An idiosyncratic literary tour round English parks and gardens

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Chelsea Fringe – London Garden No 8

Five Minutes Peace: a garden to sit in, a poem to read, and a prompt to write to … No 8. (Find out more about what this is all about here.)

QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL ROOF TOP GARDEN, SOUTH BANK

Several years ago, on a trip to Hong Kong, I was desperate to sit in a garden but no one seemed to know of one to direct me to. Eventually someone suggested a concrete sports stadium where I sat, a little uncomfortably, and wrote in my journal for a bit. Well, to be honest I think, for all its glories, the South Bank can feel a little like that, so it’s all the more surprising that hidden away above the Queen Elizabeth Hall is such a pretty rooftop garden.

With a wildflower meadow even…

Vegetables…

Hey – what’s this – a bar!…

And all, of course, with one of the best views of London.

Now because the South Bank is also the home of the BFI, the Writer in the Garden has gone all film director-y today, and here’s the writer Will Sutton captured on film for you, reading T S Eliot’s beautiful Le Figlia Che Piange. We are waiting for next year’s BAFTA’s…

So here’s a writing exercise for you today…

The Queen Elizabeth Hall garden is full of oddities, and not just us… Write about finding something unusual in your garden one morning, whether it be an object, a plant, or indeed a gardener!

Watch my TEDx Talk

https://youtu.be/_KVNGzoGfrA

Order Digging Up Paradise

I'm delighted that my book on poetry, gardens and Kent is now available for order direct from the publishers, Cultured Llama.

Gardening writer, Lia Leendertz says of it: "On this poet’s garden tour, Sarah Salway writes of the gardens’ physical selves, of course, but also of the sensations they conjure, the memories they stir up and the glimpses of history that colour her perception. Each description is rich, layered, personal and moving. It is more like the way we all experience gardens than any garden writing I have come across."

SARAH SALWAY

During my year as Canterbury Laureate in 2012, I started to write a portrait of Kent through its gardens. It wasn't a botanical record or a 'how to' garden, but a creative personal response. I became fascinated with how the close focus of gardens brought in so many other things - history, landscape, cultural movement, personalities, and especially stories.

I've now extended this to gardens outside Kent, and even in art and music. This website records the poetry and stories I write, together with a little about my creative process.

I'll put up more gardens - and garden poems - as I go, but do click on 'Visit a Garden' to come on a virtual tour with me.

Please note that this are my original photographs and writing - if you would like to use any of it, please ask my permission first.